are you middle class?

[MrsPotatohead]

guys, I legit when I looked at this: www.seattlepi.com/local/article/How-much-do-you-have-to-make-to-be-middle-class-6155131.php#photo-7706443

no wonder I feel poor even though we make what I would imagine is an ok income... except for all the student loans we have to pay and that at almost 30 we are just now making an actual income = no savings.  We are just now barely making it into the middle class* based on this, lol (although I don't quite understand the definition).

ETA: using the definition alias wrote below (and sort of what I was seeing on the internet, but I wasn't sure), 67-200%

[dana86]

wow the median is $102k I did not know that. It seems crazy.

[madDawg228]

Damn Amazon

[spa]

I like to think I am low class - Then I don't feel bad for being a b at work.

[Deleted]

Ugh, that makes me sick. I thought we were sitting ok at around 70 but I guess not....

[alias]

Just barely. But, I live in the burbs of Tacoma. No one I could afford to live in Seattle and pay rent/mortgage, my student loans, and daycare. No wonder I feel broke all the time.

[ilovebed]

I feel like we have a really high income for our family, and I don't feel like we have a lot of extra money laying around. We are still very budget conscious and we don't save anywhere near what I'd like to be savings. We are pretty frugal too. I drive an old car, we don't have cable, no gym memberships or house cleaners. I rarely shop...I get my hair done every 4 months. I guess part of that is that we spend a lot of money on child care. I guess eventually we won't be spending $1,200/month on daycare...and then I can have all of those things!

[alias]

Mar 26, 2015 23:57:42 GMT -5 ilovebed said:

I feel like we have a really high income for our family, and I don't feel like we have a lot of extra money laying around. We are still very budget conscious and we don't save anywhere near what I'd like to be savings. We are pretty frugal too. I drive an old car, we don't have cable, no gym memberships or house cleaners. I rarely shop...I get my hair done every 4 months. I guess part of that is that we spend a lot of money on child care. I guess eventually we won't be spending $1,200/month on daycare...and then I can have all of those things!

I was thinking I'd have an extra $1,000/month after E starts school, but I've realized school is 9-3, so I have to pay for before and after school care, if I stick w/ public school, so that's still like $500/month.  It's better, but it was so sad to realize.

[Deleted]

Yes, but I'm more stuck on the fact that middle class in Detroit is $30k.

[FrozenSunshine]

I want to know who's managing to live in Chicago on $54K a year, single or otherwise. Guessing the population difference of each of these cities plays a huge factor. I certainly don't know my 2.7 million neighbors in Chicago proper.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 2:14:23 GMT -5 FrozenSunshine said:

I want to know who's managing to live in Chicago on $54K a year, single or otherwise. Guessing the population difference of each of these cities plays a huge factor. I certainly don't know my 2.7 million neighbors in Chicago proper.

This is totally anecdotal since I've only been a handful of times and always stayed downtown, but isn't the disparity between rich and poor really extreme there?

[theoriginalbean]

Mar 26, 2015 22:25:46 GMT -5 alias said:

Just barely. But, I live in the burbs of Tacoma. No one I could afford to live in Seattle and pay rent/mortgage, my student loans, and daycare. No wonder I feel broke all the time.

Daycare is the sole reason that there's a 5 year age gap between our kids.

[theoriginalbean]

I also have to say that the housing costs in the Seattle area are totally mind-blowing. We do ok, raw income-wise, and our housing budget felt super tight out there. $$ goes much farther here in Cincy.

[sotally tober]

Mar 27, 2015 8:25:37 GMT -5 theoriginalbean said:

Mar 26, 2015 22:25:46 GMT -5 alias said:

Just barely. But, I live in the burbs of Tacoma. No one I could afford to live in Seattle and pay rent/mortgage, my student loans, and daycare. No wonder I feel broke all the time.

Daycare is the sole reason that there's a 5 year age gap between our kids.

Daycare is the only reason we won't have baby #2...we're just finally getting free of it and honestly, I can't even consider starting at the bottom with infant daycare again. 


We fall right into middle class. But I agree with alias, we definitely wouldn't be able to afford to live in Seattle (and honestly, I don't know that I would want to - I love suburbia). 

[Deleted]

That chart seems to be saying median income for an individual? In which case, absolutely not, I'm well below. What's the definition of "family"? Two wage earners? In which case, no, we are not meeting that $102K median.

Also, shitty writing PI! You don't write an article about income and then completely FAIL to actually report WHAT those numbers are for your location! Oh I see...click bait you have to go through ALL the photos to get to Seattle? Yeah, shitty writing. That's not journalism

[larzhope]

Mar 27, 2015 2:00:19 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

Yes, but I'm more stuck on the fact that middle class in Detroit is $30k.

this. But also, being from the metro-Detroit area, this statistic is very misleading. If you live in Detroit proper, i imagine the median income is close to $30k just because of the state of the city and the amount of low income families. If you go 2 miles outside of Detroit you have suburbs like Grosse Pointe where I imagine the median income is north of $150-200k. The 30k income only exists within city limits.  Most of the suburbs around Detroit that is not the case, and if you get 10-15 miles outside of the city you are in a different county (Oakland) which is the wealthiest in the state.

Whereas, in Seattle, yes, the city proper median income may be 102k, but you have the eastside with companies that pay well like Boeing, Microsoft and Costco and your median income is still going to be high, so it's less diverse than other large cities and their suburbs

[Mashara]

Mar 27, 2015 2:00:19 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

Yes, but I'm more stuck on the fact that middle class in Detroit is $30k.

That's only for the city proper. In some of the outlying suburbs the number is more than double.

[karebear219]

Mar 27, 2015 8:25:37 GMT -5 theoriginalbean said:

Mar 26, 2015 22:25:46 GMT -5 alias said:

Just barely. But, I live in the burbs of Tacoma. No one I could afford to live in Seattle and pay rent/mortgage, my student loans, and daycare. No wonder I feel broke all the time.

Daycare is the sole reason that there's a 5 year age gap between our kids.

This is true for us too... well #2 still isn't official, but we've planned it so if we do have to pay for two in day care it won't be for very long or if at all.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 11:21:21 GMT -5 karebear219 said:

Mar 27, 2015 8:25:37 GMT -5 theoriginalbean said:

Daycare is the sole reason that there's a 5 year age gap between our kids.

This is true for us too... well #2 still isn't official, but we've planned it so if we do have to pay for two in day care it won't be for very long or if at all.

!!!!!!

bkb2???!!!

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 11:24:22 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

Mar 27, 2015 11:21:21 GMT -5 karebear219 said:

This is true for us too... well #2 still isn't official, but we've planned it so if we do have to pay for two in day care it won't be for very long or if at all.

!!!!!!

bkb2???!!!

Why are you so desperate for EVERY ONE to have MORE kids!? You're cracking me up how excited you get...and yet you froze your ute

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 11:28:11 GMT -5 @ksta said:

Mar 27, 2015 11:24:22 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

!!!!!!

bkb2???!!!

Why are you so desperate for EVERY ONE to have MORE kids!? You're cracking me up how excited you get...and yet you froze your ute

But I like it when other people I like have kids. Those kids are fine. I don't want my own.

[alias]

The median isn't middle class, it said middle class is 67-200% of the median income.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 11:54:13 GMT -5 alias said:

The median isn't middle class, it said middle class is 67-200% of the median income.

That makes more sense. That puts us at the low end of middle class which is where I've felt we are.

[karebear219]

Mar 27, 2015 11:24:22 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

Mar 27, 2015 11:21:21 GMT -5 karebear219 said:

This is true for us too... well #2 still isn't official, but we've planned it so if we do have to pay for two in day care it won't be for very long or if at all.

!!!!!!

bkb2???!!!

Maybe I still don't know for sure. Mr. Kb and I decided we are going to make a decision after bkb's fourth birthday in October.

[MrsPotatohead]

Mar 27, 2015 11:54:13 GMT -5 alias said:

The median isn't middle class, it said middle class is 67-200% of the median income.

ok, I was waiting for someone to come in here and explain it to me, so this makes sense.  I just can't believe the avg is so high (although I can totally believe it at the same time).

[toratoratori]

Mar 27, 2015 1:11:50 GMT -5 alias said:

Mar 26, 2015 23:57:42 GMT -5 ilovebed said:

I feel like we have a really high income for our family, and I don't feel like we have a lot of extra money laying around. We are still very budget conscious and we don't save anywhere near what I'd like to be savings. We are pretty frugal too. I drive an old car, we don't have cable, no gym memberships or house cleaners. I rarely shop...I get my hair done every 4 months. I guess part of that is that we spend a lot of money on child care. I guess eventually we won't be spending $1,200/month on daycare...and then I can have all of those things!

I was thinking I'd have an extra $1,000/month after E starts school, but I've realized school is 9-3, so I have to pay for before and after school care, if I stick w/ public school, so that's still like $500/month.  It's better, but it was so sad to realize.

OMG I didn't even think about this D:

[toratoratori]

We're at $102k gross and can't afford to live in Seattle. So what I'm getting out of this is that I should resign myself to life in the burbs. Ughhh. I might as well move back to the Bay Area.

[dana86]

I think we are the bottom end of middle class, which even if I did work we would still end up after paying child care costs and what not.

[InBetweenDays]

Mar 27, 2015 9:20:13 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Mar 26, 2015 23:57:42 GMT -5 ilovebed said:

I feel like we have a really high income for our family, and I don't feel like we have a lot of extra money laying around. We are still very budget conscious and we don't save anywhere near what I'd like to be savings. We are pretty frugal too. I drive an old car, we don't have cable, no gym memberships or house cleaners. I rarely shop...I get my hair done every 4 months. I guess part of that is that we spend a lot of money on child care. I guess eventually we won't be spending $1,200/month on daycare...and then I can have all of those things!

Sadly, then you'll be spending 1.2k a month on school supplies, clothes, before and after school care, lunch money, summer camps, winter programs. And then saving up for their college (if you're helping pay for it).

We realized when I quit my job that there is never any saving money when it comes to kids. ._.;

We've still found it to be quite a savings over daycare. For us, full time before/after care is $590/month, full time summer care is $810/month. So an average savings of around $400-600/month. We don't spend a fraction of that on school supplies or lunch money (don't spend anything on lunch money actually) and already had the cost of clothing. Still not cheap, but not nearly as expensive as daycare.


The Seattle.gov website lists the median family income around $91K and the median household income around $61K. So I'm guessing this data is for a family (which generally means 2 or more people living together and related by marriage/birth/adoption).

[alias]

Mar 27, 2015 13:04:15 GMT -5 MrsPotatohead said:

Mar 27, 2015 11:54:13 GMT -5 alias said:

The median isn't middle class, it said middle class is 67-200% of the median income.

ok, I was waiting for someone to come in here and explain it to me, so this makes sense.  I just can't believe the avg is so high (although I can totally believe it at the same time).

That's what lawyers are for.